Parents, community key to preventing school shootings, sophomore says

President Donald Trump said Friday if teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida had been able to carry concealed weapons, they "would have shot the hell out of (the gunman) before he knew what happened."
AP

Frequent social media use and a decrease in “free play time” has reduced teens' opportunities to learn basic social skills, writes Verge columnist Michael Kahn.(Photo: Getty Images)

Many have expressed frustration over our system of gun control after a shooter killed 17 people at a Florida high school. Many have expressed frustration with “calls for prayer” and are more eager to find a solution to a problem that has caused so many to suffer unjustly.

Many people are looking for solutions and are asking the government to find these solutions. However, government can often be slow with regard to change in a system like gun control. There are many actions that schools, parents and communities can take to help aid in the prevention of school shootings.

One way in which schools could help prevent future school shootings is by teaching social and emotional skills. Children usually learn social skills through everyday face-to-face interactions with their peers. But today, frequent social media use and a decrease in “free play time” has reduced children’s opportunities to learn basic social skills. This could ultimately result in less socially adept teenagers and lead to more student violence. Students more fluent with social skills often connect better with others and may be more able to recognize troubled peers.

Communities can help, too. For instance, doctors should conduct standard mental health screenings to detect potential behavioral problems that usually precede acts of extreme violence. These typically include indications of serious mental illness, fascination with guns and violence, lack of social connectedness and an inclination toward aggression. By creating a standardized screening at health checkups, doctors may be able to detect these problems early on and perhaps make referrals for counseling.

Parents and guardians provide another way to aid in the prevention of future school shootings. It is important to detect what/if any aspects of your child’s life are missing. Things such as sleeping properly and socialization with his or her peers are both very integral parts of kids', specifically teenagers', lives. Lack of these could start to affect kids' mental health and may result in future student violence. Parents could help in this area by better managing their kids' sleep schedule. In addition, it is important for a parent to recognize whether their kid/teenager is socializing with his or her peers.

Although it is important to maintain a dialogue on the subject, the gun control debate has proven to be more divisive and ineffective than productive. Furthermore, it is not likely that the government will provide a solution to this issue any time soon. Ultimately, as of right now, actions through the communities, parents and schools are the best way to properly deal with the situation and provide the quickest possible solution.

Michael Kahn is a sophomore at Rhinebeck High School. Contact him at features@poughkeepsiejournal.com